Nikolausberg is a northeastern

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

town of

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its name derives from a legend according to which three pilgrims came to the church in 999 AD, of whom one left

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of

Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

following his death there. However, the name ''Nikolausberg'' has apparently been used only from the 17th century. The village was originally known as Ulrideshusen, with other variants recorded as Adelratheshusen, Ulradeshusen, Olerdeshausen, and Olrikshusen. The founding of the church and village are not documented. However, the church incorporates remains of an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

, which was first mentioned in a document of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

in which he confirmed the independence of the nunnery. Among others, this document verifies the possession of sufficient land in the neighboring village of Roringen to support four families. The nunnery was already moved to the lower-lying village of Weende around 1180 AD, due to the lack of close-by

wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

. Street names still recall the former nunnery, such as ''Am Kreuze'', ''Nonnenstieg'' and ''Augustinerstraße''. Thanks to the relics which remained with the church after 1180,the church remained a pilgrimage destination until the reformation. Among the known pilgrims to the church were Duchess Margarete of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1397) and Landgrave Ludwig of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

(1430). Visits to the church are documented all the way into the 17th century based on signatures left on the inside of the church's walls. The original church was conceived as a romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, of which the lion portal and the arches surrounding it still survive. The church was rebuilt into a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

as of the 14th century, and was completed as such following 1500 AD. The church was plundered in 1447, when soldiers of Duke Wilhem III of Saxony came through the area as part of the Saxon Brothers' War. The stone

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

that originally held the relics of St. Nicholaus is now empty.

Claims to Fame

* Nikolausberg is most famous for teaching Niels Clegg to play soccer {{Authority control Towns in Lower Saxony Göttingen